“Azure” features beautiful duets by two great improvisers whose compatibility was proven long ago. Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell made outstanding music together in Marilyn’s trio with the late Paul Motian, on ECM albums including “Nothing ever was, anyway” and “Amaryllis”, but their duo project also has an extensive history, until now undocumented on disc. With their shared sense of lyricism, their individual compositional styles and their profound background in free playing, Peacock and Crispell are exceptional musical partners. The album, recorded in upstate New York, home territory for both musicians, contains pieces written by Peacock (“Lullaby”, “The Lea”, “Puppets”) and by Crispell (“Patterns”, “Goodbye”, “Waltz after David M”), duo improvisations (“Azure”, “Blue”, “Leapfrog”) and highly inventive piano and bass solos.